Eighteen rare Bengal tigers, 17 lions, six black bears and three grizzlies were among animals released from cages at the private Muskingum County exotic animal farm in Zanesville by its owner, Terry Thompson, before he shot himself on Tuesday.

Armed police scoured the countryside to catch the animals. It is estimated that 48 creatures were shot dead, some near Thompson's body, as the search widened and nightfall approached.

Three mountain lions, a baboon and a wolf were also killed and three leopards, a grizzly bear and two monkeys were caught and taken to a zoo in Columbus, 55 miles away.

The Ohio sheriff, Matt Lutz, said on Wednesday that the monkey was thought to have been eaten by one of the big cats.

Lutz, said his office had received numerous complaints about animals escaping on to neighbours' property since 2004.

Angie McElfresh, who lives nearby, said Thompson's death "could have been an 'F-you' to everybody around him".

During the emergency, schools were closed, parents were warned to keep children and pets indoors and flashing signs along highways said: "Caution, exotic animals", and "Stay in vehicle".

"What a tragedy," Barb Wolfe, a vet at the Wilds animal preserve in Ohio, said. "We knew that … there were so many dangerous animals at this place that eventually something bad would happen, but I don't think anyone really knew it would be this bad."

Wolfe tried to save a tiger by using a tranquilliser dart, but it charged her then tried to flee. It was shot and killed by sheriff's deputies.

"I was about 15ft from him and took a shot and he didn't respond too much and I thought we were OK, but within about 10 seconds he roared and started toward me," she said.

Deputy Jonathan Merry, among the first to respond on Tuesday, said he had shot several animals including a grey wolf and a black bear that charged at him from 7ft away.

He described himself as an animal lover, but took pride in knowing that his actions were protecting the community. "All these animals have the ability to take a human out in the length of a second," he said.

Police said they had to shoot to kill because they did not want animals which had been shot by tranquillisers regaining consciousness and escaping in the dark.

As the hunt wound down, a photo showing the remains of tigers, bears and lions in a field went viral online, provoking angry reactions among some viewers on social networking sites.

Locals said they were saddened by the deaths. One, Bill Weiser, said: "It's breaking my heart, them shooting those animals."

"It's a tragedy for these particular animals – for no fault of their own, they've been shot, and I can see how difficult that decision was for the police," he added.

It was a "horrific situation" that should "serve as a brutal reminder that wildlife belong in the wild and that no one should ever put the animals or the public at risk by trying to confine them in a zoo, circus, backyard or home, where serious injury or death can occur at any time."

His organisation has logged 1,600 attacks and incidents involving such animals across the US.

Because most states did not keep accurate records of exotic animals entering, it was impossible to know exactly how many exotic animals were privately held as pets, he said. But 6,000 to 7,000 tigers are thought to be owned by private individuals.

Jack Hanna, a former director of the Columbus zoo, also defended the decision to kill the animals, but said: "It's like Noah's ark wrecking right here in Zanesville, Ohio."

The Humane Society of the United States criticised the Ohio governor, John Kasich, for allowing a statewide ban on the trade of exotic pets to expire in April, and called for an emergency crackdown.

"In recent years, Ohioans have died and suffered injuries … owners of large, exotic animals are a menace to society, and it's time for the delaying on the rulemaking to end."

Lutz's office said that 62-year-old Thompson had been charged over the years with animal cruelty and neglect, and with allowing animals to roam. He had left prison last month after serving a year for possessing unregistered guns.